WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version
WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version
WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version
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oth present and future”. Should the situation<br />
warrant, the constitution also provides judiciary<br />
powers to the ombudsman in order to ensure<br />
environmental protection. 23 Thus even if policies were<br />
not previously explicit or absent in their calls for<br />
renewable energy, there has been, since the<br />
establishment of Namibia as a country, a founding<br />
ideology which favours environmentally sensitive and<br />
considerate development.<br />
In 2003 the Namibian government established the<br />
Namibian Renewable Energy Programme (NAMREP). A<br />
Renewable Energy Action Plan followed in 2006 on<br />
the basis of six principles:<br />
Capacity building.<br />
Removal of institutional barriers.<br />
Public awareness and social acceptability.<br />
Removal of financial barriers.<br />
Removal of technical barriers.<br />
Demonstrations and pilots.<br />
UNDP Namibia (2007) reiterated the need for a longterm<br />
energy policy and vision for sustainable<br />
development, which looked to support<br />
environmentally sustainable technologies and to<br />
attain greater energy security through a steady<br />
increase of electricity production in Namibia using<br />
energy sources that are available. 13<br />
A cabinet directive has made solar water heaters<br />
mandatory for all public and semi-public buildings. It<br />
was issued as a logical step, given that the country has<br />
one of the highest solar radiation regimes in the<br />
world. 14 The White Paper of Energy Policy (1998),<br />
which has set the priorities of the energy agenda for<br />
the last decade and a half, was under review in 2012<br />
as were its energy regulatory frameworks dealing with<br />
renewable energy procurement mechanism and<br />
tendering. A National Integrated Resource Plan was<br />
also underway in 2012.<br />
Barriers to small hydropower development<br />
The scarcity of water and dependency on neighbours<br />
for water supply does little to encourage foreign<br />
direct investment due to the huge effect of<br />
precipitation on the potential for financial return from<br />
small hydropower projects. Arguably, the Government<br />
needs to be more active in its carbon cutting policy.<br />
For example, as of 2012 there were no clean<br />
development mechanism projects connected to<br />
renewable energy in Namibia.<br />
Meanwhile, the continuation of internal land use<br />
conflicts with indigenous people who were concerned<br />
about the hydropower industry and its impact on their<br />
way of life did little to promote the technology. 8 Thus,<br />
it is important that any development is not only<br />
harmonized with the long-term aims and objectives of<br />
the financial investors, but also the affected<br />
101<br />
communities, including nomadic ones. Raising<br />
awareness and education is a major challenge which<br />
needs to be tackled in order to overcome the social<br />
barriers and disapproval of the stakeholders.<br />
References<br />
1. Central Intelligence Agency (2012). The World<br />
Factbook. Available from<br />
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook<br />
2. Consulting Services Africa (2005). Baseline Study:<br />
Barrier Removal to Namibian Renewable Energy<br />
Programme. <strong>Final</strong> <strong>Report</strong> prepared for Ministry of<br />
Energy and Mines, Directorate for Energy.<br />
3. German Agency for Technical Cooperation -<br />
Technical Expertise for Renewable Energy Application<br />
(2009). Energy-policy Framework Conditions for<br />
Electricity Markets and Renewable Energies: 16<br />
Country Analyses. Energy-policy Framework Papers.<br />
Eschborn.<br />
4. Harris, M. (2012). Expansion of Namibia's Ruacana<br />
Hydropower Plant Complete. Hydro World. Available<br />
from<br />
www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2.<br />
012/06/expansion-of-namibias-ruacana-hydropowerplant-complete.<br />
Accessed December 2012.<br />
5. Graduate School of Cape Town (n.d.). Chapter 5<br />
Namibia: seeking independent power producers.<br />
Available from www.gsb.uct.ac.za/files/Namibia.pdf.<br />
6. International Energy Agency (2011). World Energy<br />
Outlook 2011. International Energy Agency. Available<br />
from www.worldenergyoutlook.org/<br />
7. United Nations Development Programme Namibia<br />
(2007). Development of a Regulatory Framework for<br />
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Pertaining to<br />
the Namibian Electricity Sector. Available from<br />
www.undp.org.na/SharedFiles/Download.aspx?pageid<br />
=21&fileid=26&mid=71. Accessed December 2012<br />
8. Namibia, Ministry of Mines and Energy (2012).<br />
Hydro Masterplan. Available from<br />
www.mme.gov.na/energy/hydro-powermasterplan.htm<br />
Accessed December 2012.<br />
9. International Journal on Hydropower and Dams<br />
(2011). World Atlas and Industry Guide 2011. Surrey,<br />
UK: Aquamedia International..<br />
10. International Renewable Energy Agency (2011).<br />
Renewable Energy Country Profiles: Africa. Abu Dhabi,<br />
United Arab Emirates.<br />
11. Namibia National Investment Brief (2008). High-<br />
Level Conference on: Water for Agriculture and<br />
Energy in Africa. Available from<br />
www.sirtewaterandenergy.org/docs/reports/Namibia-<br />
Draft2.pdf.<br />
12. Namibian Constitution (n.d.). Republic of Namibia<br />
Available from www.environmentnamibia.net/tl_files/pdf_documents/constitution/Con<br />
stitution%20of%20the%20Republic%20of%20Namibia<br />
.pdf. Accessed December 2012.<br />
13. Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa (2008).<br />
Ministerial Conference on Water for Agriculture and
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